A Philadelphia Catholic in King James's Court: A Novel - Softcover

Kennedy, Martin De Porres

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0967149215 ISBN 13: 9780967149219

Publisher: Lilyfield Press, 2021

Synopsis

After the tragic death of his father, Michael OShea travels from his native Philadelphia to rural Kentucky for the summer. In this land of tobacco farming, bluegrass music, and devout fundamentalist Christianity, he is compelled to explain and justify the Catholic faith. His only defense, the Bible. Join Michael on an Amish-style farmstead as he learns to milk a cow, harness a horse, disk a field, and harvest hay with a team instead of a tractor. Will he discover the truth about the papacy, the Eucharist, and devotion to Mary in Sacred Scripture?

About this title

About the Author

Martin Kennedy was born in Philadelphia, Pa. He attended a diocesan-run, Christian Brothers school for boys, a Philadelphia area university where he was in the Honors program, and Temple University for his masters in Economics. In 2000 Martin returned to school to earn his PhD in economics (University of Delaware, 2004). In July of 2004 the Kennedys moved to Nashville, TN where they reside currently.

From the Back Cover

Join Michael on an Amish-style farmstead as he learns to milk a cow, harness a horse, disk a field, and harvest hay with a team instead of a tractor. Will he discover the truth about the papacy, the Eucharist, and devotion to Mary in Sacred Scripture? "This improbable novel calms the spirit with the beauty of family life on a farm, and somehow - can't put my finger on it - beguiles you into identifying with the unlikely hero as he learns how to defend his Catholic faith in confrontation with Bible believers. Too bad apologetics isn't always this enjoyable - or seductive." Father Owen Kearns, LC Publisher, National Catholic Register "...A powerful defense of Catholic beliefs that acknowledges the deep love for Christ and thirst for truth among fundamentalist Christians." Marcus Grodi President, The Coming Home Network Host, "The Journey Home" on EWTN "From stickball played on the Philadelphia blacktop to working the tobacco fields of rural Kentucky, Kennedy takes us on a wonderful ride. He introduces us to the sublime joys found in a slower pace of life and the profound truths found in the Catholic faith. It's a fun read - enjoy it yourself, then pass it on!" Matthew Pinto President, Envoy magazine

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter 1

Michael O'Shea had been sleeping peacefully for hours, then the dream returned. It was the same dream that had visited him each night since the fire. He couldn't escape the images -- his father running inside the row home which was already engulfed in flames, totally focused on rescuing the man whom neighbors insisted was still inside. The roar of fire was deafening, a loud and boastful profanity encroaching on the souls trapped within. The flames licked his father's shoulders and mid-section, a sick pre-torture warm-up, or maybe just a way of tempting him... Forget the man trapped inside. Get out. Save yourself, before it's too late. Finally his father spotted the man on the floor, tied to the recliner.

By this time in Michael's recurring dream the scene became maddening and pathetic, his father working furiously to free the unconscious man from the chair while the fire burned his skin and the smoke filled his lungs. Upon freeing the man, he placed his overcoat around him and began dragging him toward the front door.

Michael's nightmare was almost over now. Every night it was the same -- he had gotten to know the dream like a film buff gets to know an old Humphrey Bogart movie. In his dream, Michael would be out by the front stoop, as he was on the night of the fire, praying feverishly and nearing panic as the crowd gathered behind him. The fire engines and paramedics, with horns blaring, were just rounding the corner. His father, burned and dazed but still dragging the unconscious man, emerged and collapsed on the stoop. Michael and a couple of the bystanders dragged both men out to the street, just as they had that night. From there the paramedics, efficient ministers of modern medicine, went to work right on the blacktop. Michael was left stunned and helpless. Just fifteen minutes before, he had been driving home with his father. They had been discussing where he might go to college.

Each night Michael woke from this same dream weeping quietly. It was even more vivid this night, perhaps because his hospitalized father had become unconscious during the day and was not expected to make it through the night. Michael was watching, like the film buff, knowing what was going to happen next but engrossed in the events nonetheless.

Then the strange thing happened. The ending changed... at the part where he stood by the stoop waiting frantically. The fire roared, just like before. The smoke was billowing out of the front door and the open window, just like before. But when his father emerged this time, he wasn't dragging the man behind him. Instead a lamb leapt from his arms to safety. The lamb was spry and alert as if it had just jumped through a gate that led back to a lush, green pasture and not an inferno.

Michael quickly looked back, but his father was gone and Michael awoke.

Unlike the other times, he was not sobbing. He was at peace. Was it because he was more intrigued and startled by the surprise ending, whereas before he could only feel sad and helpless? Yes, that was it in part, but the peace went beyond that. There was a supernatural element involved. It was as if he were a little boy again being cuddled, cradled, and consoled by his mother.

He was also wide awake now. Then he remembered something his grandmother had once said. She had been fussing one morning about not being able to sleep as soundly as in her younger days. In the middle of her complaint, she had stopped short, and with a smile gently rebuked herself: "If you wake up at night without knowing why, it's usually the voice of an angel to your soul calling you to pray for someone in need."

Edition details

• Publisher: Lilyfield Press
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0967149215
• ISBN 13: 9780967149219
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 330